Ryoma's POV
'Please still be there!'
Panting as I dash towards the train station, I berate myself for taking a nap and ending up ten minutes late to my date. The only reason I had woken up at all was because of Karupin; I was lucky enough to have him jump on me.
Rounding the corner, I see the train station up ahead and I sprint as fast as I can. Finally making my way through the crowd, I see Akashi sitting on a nearby bench looking around calmly.
"Akashi!" I call out as I make my way to him. Standing in front of him, I struggle to breath as I lean down with my hands braced on my knees. "I'm so...so sorry I'm late! I had....had slept in late...."
Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I look up into his eyes to see only mirth instead of anger. Letting him lead me to sit next him, he gives me a reassured smile.
"It's fine, Ryoma. Your brother texted me earlier saying you were taking a nap." He chuckles and brushes a piece of hair away from my sweaty forehead. "He also said that you tend to sleep in and that I should find a seat while I wait for you."
Finally relaxing against the bench, I roll my eyes. "Of course he did." I whisper under my breath.
"You're just lucky that the train was delayed. If we had missed it we would have been stuck here for another thirty minutes until the next one came around." He informs me as he rubs a thumb over my cheek. Heat begins to crawl up my neck at his attention on me. "You look really nice by the way."
Eyes widening, I gulp. "You look nice as well..."
'Should my heart be beating this fast?'
After waiting for few more minutes, the train finally makes it's way to the station. We chat and laugh as we make our way to the city. I hadn't realized it until we had stood up to leave that we had been sitting side by side, our shoulders brushing constantly, the cool air replacing the heat that had once been there.
Walking a couple of blocks, we make it to the fair to see multiple rides of people screaming and stands full of prizes. After purchasing our tickets, Akashi grabs my hand and pulls me away from the booth.
"Come on, Ryoma. Lets go on this one, I bet it'll be fun." He gives me a smile while pulling me along.
While we were on the train, Akashi had told me that he favored the more scary rides than anything else. After hearing this, I had decided that I would at least try the rides that he would pic. I was never the one to be interested in rides, but if I gave it a shot then I might enjoy them.
Smiling at him, I nod along. "Sure, how bad can it be?"
______________________________
'Why did I have to say that?'
I groan quietly to myself as we make our way to the food court. It had been an hour ago that we had gotten here. An hour of going on every single one of the rides that the fair offered. An hour of clinging onto the bar as I felt my stomach do flips at every drop.
Glancing over at Akashi, I can't help myself from smiling at the joy in his eyes. He had enjoyed the rides so much that he had talked about what it was like when he was younger to go on them. What his favorite ones were and how he would even go on the same ones at least three times. It was the first time that he had opened up to me about himself and his past. I wasn't about to let a little motion sickness stop him from that.
"So what do you want to eat, Ryoma?" He asks as he wraps an arm around me. Ignoring the blush on my cheeks, he points in the direction of a teriyaki stand. "How about we share some teriyaki chicken?"
Trying to calm my heart from beating so fast, I nod. "Sure," grinning, I elbow him lightly, "so long as we split the pay. You wouldn't let me even buy my tickets earlier."
Watching as he put on a fake hurt look, I try to stifle a laugh as he becomes eccentric. "I was simply trying to be a gentleman to you, your Highness."
Raising an eyebrow, I cross my arms at his antics. "Since when did you become my valiant Knight?"
He smirks and leans down to whisper in my ear. "Every since I realized how adorable you are, my sweet."
Eyes widening, I can only watch as he strolls up to the counter and orders us our food.
Shaking my head, I make my way over to him and make him buy me a Ponta.
'If you can't beat em, join em'
Once we finished our food, we make our way over to the games. Not many interested us so we simply passed the time watching others try their hand at winning. After laughing at a particularly opponent, I see a stand that catches my interest. Grabbing Akashi's arm, I pull him over to it to see someone trying to knock down a set of cans with a baseball.
Before I'm able to catch the employees attention, Akashi makes his way forward and hands them money to play. Watching as he picks up the balls, I notice that he keeps glancing at tennis ball shaped doll. Feeling something nice in my chest, I watch as he tries to knock the cans down.
"Well you got two of three cans." Informs the stand owner. "So you can pick any medium sized prize from this row."
He glances at me and I see his shoulder slump as he points to a white chess piece. Thanking the owner, Akashi turns to me and fingers the doll with his head down.
"I'm sorry, Ryoma. I tried-" He starts, but I interrupt him by walking past him and handing the owner my own money.
"I'd like a try, sir." I inform.
Giving me a knowing smile, the old man hands me three balls and gestures to the cans. "All yours."
I can feel the gaze of Akashi on my back as I wind my arm back.
'It's just like tennis.'
Throwing the ball, I watch as I knock all the cans down with satisfaction. Turning to the owner, I give him a small smile. "Do I get to choose any prize now?"
Laughing, he nods and points to the top row. "Go ahead and pick any prize you want."
Knowing immediately what I wanted, I point to the tennis ball shaped doll and thank him as he hands it to me. Turning around, I see Akashi giving me a smile, hiding the chess piece behind his back.
"Good job, Ryoma!" He tells me, but I can tell that he's slightly dissapointed.
Blushing softly, I walk over and grab his hand, making him show me his prize. Grabbing it, I take it out of his hands and replace it with the tennis ball. Fingering the top of the chess piece, I feel myself blushing again. "I wanted something that you won for me..." Glancing up at him, I give him a small smile. "I hope that's ok."
A smile forms on his face as he wraps an arm around me. "You're so cute. " He kisses my forehead, causing me to feel as if I was on cloud nine.
Smiling up at him, I reach down and grab his hand. "And you're my Knight." I tease.
Laughing, he leads us to the exit and we make our way back to the train station. As we walk, we talk about our families and I tell him about Ryoga who lives in America. In return, he tells me about his family and how they had become rich after a job promotion in the family. His father had received the promotion after working for five years there, earning the position as executive of one of there branches. Although it came with a big pay and multiple benefits, it meant that he would have to move to the branch in Canada to work. Akashi's mother hadn't want to let her husband live in a new place by himself, but she also didn't want to leave her son to grow up alone. After informing them both that he was old enough to take of himself, they had agreed to let him stay in Japan so long as he called and updated him on how things were going. He was fine with it, it helped him become independent and helped his parents focus on their work without worrying about their son across the world.
It wasn't until Akashi had kissed my cheek that I noticed something peculiar going on. Everywhere we went, there would be people watching us, mainly focusing on our hands that were held together. Feeling me tense up, Akashi squeezes my hand. "Just ignore them." He whispers to me. Not trusting myself to respond, I say nothing and continue to walk with him at my side.
I wasn't ignorant on the reasoning behind these blatant stares, I knew Japan wasn't the most progressive about gay relationships. The older generations tended to be more out spoken on their beliefs on the subject more so than others. While riding to school with Momo one day, I had overheard a pair of elderly women talking next to their mailbox.
"Can you believe the Americans?"
"How can they allow gay marriage? Don't they know that it's not right for the same sex to engage in relations, let alone marry?"
"I'm telling you, they're all going to end up in Hell for what they've done."
Wincing slightly at the memory, I begin to feel my mood drop from ecstatic to depressing. Shaking my head, I pull my hand away from Akashi's, feeling his gaze on me. I was about to explain that I didn't want to cause attention when two girls stand in front of us.
The red head smiles at us. "Hi, we're sorry for stopping you, but we just wanted to thank you."
Nodding, the blonde one gives us a grateful smile. "I know this sounds weird, but we truly are thankful for you. Not many people are so open about their relationship these days, and we just wanted to tell you two that we're so glad that there's at least some people willing to be brave enough to stick by their choices."
Smiling, the red head pulls the other one away. "We've taken up enough of your time as it is, take care."
Too shocked to say anything, I watch as the two walk away hand in hand. Glancing up at Akashi, I notice him biting his lip lightly while staring at his hand. Feeling guilty, I immediately grab his hand and hold onto it tightly, moving so we're shoulder to shoulder. Blushing, I ignore the shocked look on Akashi's face as I pull him towards the train station.
We walk in complete silence as we reach our destination. Sitting down on a bench together in front of the entrance, we wait until the train arrives. Risking a glance, I see Akashi giving me a loving smile, making my heart melt.
Squeezing my hand, he smiles even more. "I had a really nice time today."
Giving him a smile of my own, I nod. "I did too...." I hesitate a bit, debating what I should next when the intercom comes on, announcing the oncoming train.
A bit frustrated and nervous, I stand as Akashi stands as well. Giving me a smile, he leans down to kiss my cheek. "I'd love to do this again, I'll talk to you later." He whispers in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.
Nodding in response, I give him a small smile. "I would really like that."
'Train 37 is now boarding.' Announces the intercom.
Turning to Akashi, I give him a happy smile. "Text me when you get home."
Raising an eyebrow, he grins at me playfully. "Oh? Are you that impatient for another date?"
Laughing, I shake my head. "I want to make sure you get home safely because I really like you." Leaning up, I kiss on the cheek and rush towards the boarding train. Once I'm safely inside, I sit down at a window seat and look out to see Akashi blushing. Smiling once more, I wave at him and sit back as the train departs.
Smiling at the chess doll in my hands, I hug it to my chest tightly.
'Yeah....I really like you lot.'